A conscious sedation system is known and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,764 entitled “Apparatus and method for providing a conscious patient relief from pain and anxiety associated with medical or surgical procedures”. In that system, a procedure room unit included a controller, which generated a request for a predetermined response from a patient. The request was in the form of an auditory command, which was received by a patient through an earphone in the ear of the patient or was in the form of a vibration signal, which was received by the patient through a vibrator in a handpiece, which was attached to the hand of the patient. The predetermined response to the request was the pushing of a button on the handpiece by the patient, which closed a switch sending a signal to the controller. The controller analyzed medical information from the patient. Such medical information included, for example, blood pressure from a blood pressure cuff attached to the procedure room unit and placed on the arm of the patient and respiratory carbon dioxide levels obtained from a cannula (which also delivered oxygen to the patient) attached to the procedure room unit and placed on the face of the patient. The controller also analyzed the time delay between the request and the response. Based on the medical information and the time delay between the request and the response, the controller determined the level of sedation of the patient and decreased the flow of a gaseous or IV (intravenous) conscious sedation drug to the patient if the controller determined the patient was in a deeper level of conscious sedation than desired.
It is known to deliver IV sedation drugs to a patient from a drug-delivery cassette assembly using a peristaltic pump wherein the cassette assembly and pump are attached to the procedure room unit.
Still, scientists and engineers continue to seek improved medical effector systems, such as sedation delivery systems, and components, which can be used therein.